With a bestial roar in its face, the daemon that was Asa bit off its head with a crunch.

Colby, distracted by the daemon, smacked into the side of my face then slid down onto my shoulder, where it was safe.

Relief that had nothing to do with having Colby warm and safe in my arms shuddered through me.

Asa was okay. Better than okay, he was alive. He was…really going to town on that crow.

“You’re scaring the kid,” Clay warned him. “Spit that out and throw the rest away.”

The daemon growled low in its throat, chewed a few more times, then sighed and did as he was told.

Adrenaline could only keep you going for so long. As it flushed out my system, I was forced to accept the truth that my actions carried terrible consequences. Taylor was dead, as in pile-of-ash dead, and we had no idea where he’d stashed Arden and Camber. He had held them captive for ten-plus hours. It was far too easy for me to imagine what he might have done to the girls during that time, what he left for us to find.

“Where do we start?” I spun toward Clay. “What did the Kellies say?”

They hadn’t gotten back with us before I went to meet Taylor, but any location information they gave us was more critical now than ever.

The girls were on all sorts of social apps that fed their location information to their friends and followers. For once, I was grateful they had ignored Miss Dotha’s—and my—warnings about making them so easy to find. Surely Taylor wouldn’t have bothered disabling them when he called me right to him.

“Fan out.” I made a circular motion with my finger. “Let’s search the perimeter for any surprises.”

We broke apart and combed the area. Aside from a rusted chain strung from a limb that hung into the water, we found nothing in the immediate area. The chain was peppered with rotting wooden dowels. Teens swung from it over the water then let go with a splash. It had been here last time, and I saw firsthand how it was used then.

After we regrouped, I told them, “We need to search the spot where Taylor called me from.”

I didn’t have to remind them of the screams he offered as proof of life. They would have heard them.

“Agreed.” Clay began walking, phone in hand. “It will give the Kellies time to work.”

Asa elected to remain in his daemon form. How he kept his thick horns and hair, which was too thick to tell me if he had a bald spot, from snagging on low-lying limbs mystified me. He moved with an easy grace through the trees that could only stem from his fae heritage.

“Here.” He thrust a hank of his long hair at me. “Pet.”

“I have other things on my mind right now.” I swatted his hand. “No thanks.”

“Pet,” he growled at me. “Now.”

On my shoulder, Colby snickered and snorted with no attempt to hide her laughter.

“Fine.” I held the lock of hair like a leash and kept searching. “Happy?”

The daemon rumbled and puffed out his chest as if me leading him around was the best thing ever.

The hike took no time, but the coordinates gave nothing away. Nothing but trees, trees, and more trees.

“Everyone, stand clear.” I used the excuse to return the daemon’s hair to him. “I’m going to—”

“We.” An insistent foot tapped on top of my head. “We are going to…whatever you were about to say.”

“Colby…”

“Don’t Colby me.” She stomped again. “I’m your familiar.” Her voice softened. “Let me help you. Please, Rue.”

After everything she had been through, I should have known how much it mattered to her that she help break the cycle. She didn’t want any other girls to end up like her or worse. And I…I had to respect that.

“Okay.” I took out my wand. “We’re going to douse the area for residual magic.”

“Ready.” Her wings fluttered overhead. “Let’s do this.” She sank to my eye level. “How do we do this?”

Tags: Hailey Edwards Black Hat Bureau Fantasy
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